Setting Overview

We don't know how far away from Earth we are, or how long ago humans first left Earth. Incalculable knowledge has been lost to war, plagues, and alien occupations, and now Earth is merely an ancient legend. But humanity survives in the form of its distant colony worlds. Technology is advanced but stagnant, and includes anti-gravity fields, energy weapons, faster-than-light drives, brain-uploading, and generators that can draw practically unlimited energy from the “aether.”

From the ashes a new pocket of civilizations arose in this unusually habitable corner of the galaxy. Peace is carefully maintained in besieged nations whose overextended military forces continue to constantly fight off against alien invasions and rebellions, sometimes leaving their huge frontiers and rather lawless.

Yamatai

The Yamatai Star Empire is a technologically-advanced transhuman empire with most of the population using biological android bodies. It's got an 80s anime-inspired flavor and is protected by a massive, politically powerful military called the Star Army, which the site is named after. The Star Army is known for its mass-produced cat-eared female warriors, the Nekovalkyrja (pronounced Nay-ko-wul-ku-ree). Due to their numbers, there are more women than men in Yamatai. After tense negotiations, Yamatai has recently signed a defense treaty with Nepleslia and Lor, but that doesn't mean it likes them.

Nepleslia

In stark contrast, The Democratic Imperium of Nepleslia is a gritty cyberpunk nation of humans, cyborgs, and mutants that deals with high crime in its megacities. Mixing of genetic material from super-solider programs has resulted in muscular half-breeds and a population that is considerably more male than female. Nepleslia has a space navy and space marines. It was previously part of Yamatai, but rebelled several years ago. Now, the two nations are part of a military alliance.

The Vast Universe

As you go through character creation, you'll be introduced to several other interesting factions you can create a character for. You can also make your own faction if you like. Around the known factions is an endless sea of strange aliens, bold outlaws and jealous insurgencies.

Roleplaying Overview

In Star Army, you and other members create characters who live in the high-tech fictional universe of Star Army and then use your imagination to write your character's actions and dialogue to create collaborative stories. You can create and play characters forged by this unique universe and their actions will affect the setting for future players.

Play-by-Post

Star Army is a play-by-post roleplaying community, which means we operate by posting text on the forum. Unlike tabletop roleplaying games, Star Army is mostly just writing and does not use complex game mechanics (math). Most story plots have a Game Master (GM) assigned whose job is to guide the story, describe the setting, and write the actions of background characters (NPCs). In the Open Roleplay forum, the creator of the RP thread may act as a GM.

In Star Army RPs, we usually write in third-person past tense, the way most novels do. For example: A scowl of disgust appeared on Sayuri's face as she watched the lizard creatures eagerly gnawing on the abandoned corpses.

Flexible Time

At a site-wide level, a year in real life is equivalent to a year in the Star Army universe. However, you are not required to stay aligned with the actual dates throughout the year. To help keep track of space and time, please include the location, date, and time at the start of your posts as needed.

A Shared, Living Setting

Star Army is a shared, living world that is always growing. Your writing can add to the setting, and your RP may be affected by events in the setting. Because you'll roleplay with other people, expect to be surprised sometimes! Have fun and be brave.

Account Setup

You must be 16 or older to join Star Army. There is no cost to join or participate. Before joining, you should probably read the Site Rules.

The wiki login system is separate from the forum one, so you will need to register for both.

Register an account on the forums by clicking “Log in or Sign up” on the upper right corner of the page.

If you have trouble registering, contact the admin! See the Questions and Assistance section below.

Creating and Roleplaying Characters

Lurk as long as you want. No pressure. When you're ready, start making characters using the guides found on the Creating A Character wiki page. Once your character is approved you're free to start Roleplaying by joining a plot group or by joining or creating a roleplay thread.

Involves other characters (Give the next poster something to react to!)

Star Army is a community, so get the most out of this site by being proactive; get (and stay) involved. Make friends of your fellow roleplayers by showing them you're fun to write with! It doesn't matter how long you've been a site member: what matters is what you're doing.

Questions and Assistance

Getting into Star Army is easiest when you ask someone to mentor you through it, and we're happy to do that! If we haven't volunteered yet, just ask! You've got questions: there are many ways to get answers or help: